Make an enemy of certainty and befriend doubt. When you can change your mind, you can change anything.
Kevin Ashton
As Tammy and I sat in church this past Sunday, our minister, Vince Antonucci, began his sermon on a topic not often discussed in many religious services: the importance of doubt. Vince’s insights started me thinking about the importance of doubt — and why we should embrace ours.
Doubt creeps into our thoughts and lives in every regard — not just in religion and the meaning of life. We doubt our abilities as leaders, professionals, and parents. Typically, we try to eliminate all our doubts — but perhaps that is not the best course of action.
Doubt can be a healthy thing. It can help us examine our viewpoints and question whether they are accurate. Doubt can also lead to greater confidence because we know that we have thought through our positions and are not just blindly following them.
However, doubt can also be confusing and frustrating. It can make us feel like we are not good enough or are not progressing. If doubt is constant, it can lead to anxiety and paralysis.
“If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.” ― Francis Bacon
Here are three steps to dealing with doubt:
Acknowledge your doubt. Everyone has doubts at times. Doubt is a normal part of the human experience. When you find yourself doubting your abilities, it is crucial first to acknowledge the feeling. Do not try to push the doubt away or ignore it. Just accept that it is there and allow yourself to feel it.
Examine your doubt. Once you have acknowledged your doubt, you can then examine it. Examining your doubt means thinking through why you feel doubtful and what is causing the worry or fear.
What is causing you to doubt yourself?
Is there evidence to support your doubt?
Or is your doubt based on irrational thoughts?
Is there a specific event or situation that is making you question things? Or is it more generalized anxiety?
Try to identify the source of the doubt and explore it further.
Find a balance. Once you have examined your doubt, you can then work on finding a balance. It is essential to have some doubts in order to question our perspectives and ideas. But too much doubt can lead to paralysis and anxiety. Try to find the middle ground where you can listen to your doubts, but also trust yourself and your abilities.
It’s not my goal to make a political statement here, but I have to wonder if a bit of doubt and questioning of himself might have served Mr. Putin well in the current crisis. Many outside observers believe that he entered the current conflict with overwhelming (and inaccurate) certainty. It is also reported that he surrounds himself with “yes-men and women” who refuse to question or challenge his ideas and perspectives.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, John Kennedy constantly challenged his advisors to offer contradictory viewpoints. He embraced doubt and rejected his Generals when they presented approaches with abject certainty. He relentlessly played the “what if” game with his team to analyze every possible move and potential response. The result is the world was spared a nuclear war.
Learn to listen to your doubts and question them. But also learn to trust yourself and your abilities.
It’s not that iconic professionals and leaders are without doubts. Instead, they know how to embrace and leverage their doubts into greater productivity and performance.
There are so many variables competing for our attention today it’s easy to get bogged down in the minor details and lose focus on what’s important. When trying to achieve a critical task, it’s crucial to stay focused and not let distractions get in the way.
It’s all too easy to let the minor things take priority over the significant goals. But if you want to succeed, you need to learn to control your focus and stay on track. Don’t let the minor things overshadow the major ones – focus on what’s important and achieve your goals! Only by keeping your eye on the prize can you achieve great things.
The late, great business philosopher, Jim Rohn, used to ask, “Are you majoring in minor things?” It’s a brilliant question. Frequently, we can get so caught up in the details that we overlook the primary purpose. We focus on the small aspects rather than what’s most important.
Remember, the first Cornerstone of Distinction is CLARITY! It’s essential to keep your priorities straight so you can create distinction. Knowing what is truly important makes it easier to stay focused and motivated.
Stay in control of your focus, and don’t let distractions get in the way of your success.
“The more you know, the more you realize how much you don’t know.” – Aristotle.
Knowledge is the first step to power. The most innovative people are constantly learning and expanding their horizons. The more you learn, the better equipped you’ll be to focus on what’s important and achieve your goals. Don’t be afraid to ask for help – there’s no shame in admitting you don’t know everything.
The second step, however, is action. We often joke about being online and going “down the rabbit hole” — in other words, we get so distracted and engaged with the next link online or the next video on YouTube that we spend hours on the trivial than the vital. If knowledge were all that was necessary to achieve success, the center of the universe would be on college campuses.
Here are three steps to maintaining focus:
1. Know your priorities.
It’s only recently that the word “priority” also had a plural version. The word priority was created to signify the one aspect that was THE most important of all items we are considering. It’s essential to limit the number of items you’ll focus on — and know them thoroughly.
2. Stay disciplined
The importance of discipline is frequently underrated. It’s the ability to do what you should do when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not. It’s the key to achieving success and staying on track. Discipline allows you to focus on your goals and ignore distractions.
3. Take action!
With so many distractions today, it can be easy to lose focus on what’s important. If something is essential, you’ll find a way to get it done. But if you want to achieve great things, you need to stay focused and go to work! It’s up to you to take control of your focus and stay on track.
“What gets scheduled, gets done.” – Brian Tracy.
So, are you majoring in minor things? If you want to be successful, you must clarify what’s important and stay on track. Only by keeping your eye on the prize can you achieve great things.
Don’t permit the minor aspects to overshadow the major ones – have clarity on what is important and achieve your distinctive goals!
Recording artists often release a “greatest hits” compilation. And let’s face it, when you go see your favorite singer or band, you certainly want to hear them play the songs you know by heart.
Yet, all my friends in the music business seem to have one thing in common. No matter how many hits they’ve previously recorded, they continue to create new material.
There’s a lesson there for every business and any leader.
Just as in show business, experimentation and change are essential to continued success no matter how successful you are. That’s why the most innovative companies encourage their employees to experiment and take risks. And it’s why the best leaders are always looking for ways to improve.
If you want your business or career to continue to flourish, don’t rest on your laurels. Many years ago, Rick Nelson revitalized his stagnant career with a song named “Garden Party.” In the tune, he talked about playing all the old hits but realized that “if memories were all I sang, I’d rather drive a truck.”
Unfortunately, what we take for granted in the music industry isn’t always embraced in the corporate world. We seem to think we must keep “playing our hits” without developing new methods and approaches to dealing with customers.
I often inquire during my presentations, “Imagine I asked your customers to name something you’re doing differently or better to serve them today than how you did a couple of years ago. Would they be able to name an innovation or improved practice right away?” At this point, many in the crowd look down or shift their eyes away. You know the reason — most of us just keep doing what we’ve always done.
Here are three reasons we need to continue to innovate:
1) Experimentation allows us to find new and better ways to serve our customers. If we fail to try something unique — and our competition is willing to be creative — we run an enormous risk of turning our best clients into the competitor’s best prospects!
2) Change is essential to our survival. In the words of Charles Darwin, “It is not the strongest species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but rather the one that is most responsive to change.”
3) Innovation distinguishes us from our competition. If we’re not constantly striving to be better than those we compete against, we’ll soon find ourselves struggling to keep up.
If you’re not innovating, you’re falling behind. Don’t be afraid to experiment.
The next time you’re tempted to play it safe and just stick with what’s worked in the past, remember that your greatest hits may not be your greatest future.
If you need to have your thinking challenged positively — or bounce ideas off of a leader to stimulate your creativity — I’d love to help. Whether through personal coaching, professional consulting, keynote presentations, or virtual training programs, we’re ready to help you expand your number of hits and earn standing ovations from your audiences (your team and your customers)! Just contact us for more information.
Whoever said, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” got it all wrong. As I have often said (and been quoted for it), imitation is the sincerest form of theft.
Being like your competition was assumed to be a safe space for many. No longer. If all you are is a mirror image of your rivals, then you’re nothing more than a commodity.
Being distinctive is the key to success.
You must be willing to think uniquely and develop ideas to stay ahead of the curve. It is why “Creativity” is the second of the Four Cornerstones of Distinction.
To help you get started, here are ten steps that will help you think differently:
Step #1: Be curious. The best innovators are always curiosity seekers. They’re constantly exploring new things and looking for ways to improve their products or services.
Step #2: Embrace change. Change can be scary, but it’s required for innovation. If you’re not open to change, you’ll never create anything new. You cannot create distinction by doing things the way they’ve always been done.
Step #3: Take risks. Innovation requires risk-taking, so don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things.
Step #4: Be open to feedback. Feedback is essential for innovation, so make sure you’re always listening to what others whose opinions you value have to say. This doesn’t mean the nay-sayers on social media should rule your thoughts. It means seeking and obtaining insights from those who sincerely want you to succeed.
Step #5: Think outside the box. (As much as I hate that old cliche — it is the truth here.) Don’t be afraid to come up with unconventional ideas. Think about it; someone really said in a meeting somewhere, “What if sharks got caught up in a big tornado?”
That sounds strange, but it was probably just as wild when Marc Randolph (my colleague on the “in residence” faculty at High Point University) said to Reed Hastings, “What if you got DVDs in the mail instead of having to go to Blockbuster?” (You know how that turned out with Netflix, right?)
Step #6: Be persistent. Innovation doesn’t happen overnight, so don’t give up if your first few ideas don’t work out.
Step #7: Brainstorm often. For many, the most productive approach to develop innovative ideas is by brainstorming with others.
Step #8: Be patient. Innovation doesn’t happen overnight, so be prepared to work hard and put in the time necessary for success.
Step #9: Stay up-to-date. To stay ahead of the curve, you need to keep up with the latest trends and changes in your industry and others. By learning about what’s new in other industries, you may get insight into what you could do to stand out in yours.
Step #10: Get inspired. Inspiration can come from anywhere! Be certain that you’re constantly looking for new sources of inspiration. I’ve learned they are all around us – we just need to be on the lookout for them!
Remember, it’s not about copying what others are doing! It’s about creating fresh ideas that will help you stand out from the competition and create distinction!
This is the time of year when you’ll see a plethora of posts about how to launch your New Year positively. You’ll also see countless conversations on television news about your resolutions for the coming year.
Well… here’s one more — however, I’m going to suggest you need something OTHER than New Year’s resolutions. Don’t make the same mistake as last year and set resolutions — set goals! You need New Year’s Goals.
New Year’s goals are better than New Year’s resolutions.
What’s the difference between New Year resolutions and New Year goals? You probably don’t remember what last year’s resolutions were – they were just to do something more meaningful, like lose weight or get in shape. Resolutions kind of happen by themselves.
With a resolution, you say to yourself what you want — then you try to find the discipline to achieve it. The most cited example to prove this point is to look at how crowded fitness centers are in January versus how relatively empty they are in May.
Goals are different.
Goals must be stated to get done. You have to write down your New Year’s goals. This enables you to create specific action steps toward success.
So how do we set New Year’s goals? There are many ways, but I’m going to suggest a process that has worked for me in the past.
The first step is to take inventory of where you are right now – what’s working and what isn’t? This will help you set some goals around things you want to continue doing, as well as areas you’d like to improve.
The second step is to get clear about what you want – in other words, your goals. It doesn’t mean they have to be lofty or pie-in-the-sky; instead, it’s crucial that they inspire you and make you feel good just thinking about them. You don’t say you’re going on a vacation “somewhere.” You’re specific — you’re heading to Disney World or Vegas, for example. The same is valid with your goals. You have to be precise.
The third step is to create a timeline for your goals – when do you want to achieve them? Again, this doesn’t have to be rigid, but it’s helpful to stay on track. Remember — most people do not set unrealistic goals. Instead, they set unrealistic time frames.
The fourth step is to come up with an action plan – what are the specific steps you need to take to achieve your goal? Break it down into concrete, precise steps. This will help ensure you don’t leave out any steps in between.
The fifth step is to take action – the only way to achieve New Year’s goals and resolutions alike is by taking action! Thomas Edison said, “The value of an idea lies in the using of it.”
And finally…commit yourself to your New Year’s goals. Don’t be shy about letting people know what you’re working toward. The more accountable you are, the better chance you will achieve New Year’s goals.
New Year, new you? WRONG. New Year, New GOALS.
So distinctive New Year’s goal-setters – get to it! And have a very happy New Year, and I join you in looking forward to a happy, healthy 2022!
(If you’d like to get your New Year off to a terrific start — consider joining our Iconic Inner Circle! You get to try it out for a month for free…and there’s no obligation to continue. Take it for a test drive! Check it out at https://IconicInnerCircle.com.)
When you stop to think about it, the qualities embodied by the spirit of the holidays — a giving attitude, an appreciation expressed to others, and gratitude for your blessings — define how we should treat our customers and team members EVERY day throughout the year.
Giving Attitude
A “giving attitude” is best expressed as the perspective that puts the needs of others above your own. It’s the attitude of being willing to help, to give freely of yourself, and to think of others before yourself. We should bring this spirit to our relationships with both our customers and team members.
When we are open to giving more than we receive, it creates a feeling of joy and abundance. This is the attitude we want our team members and customers to experience. We should think of ways to give more, treat our customers differently, and make them feel special.
Instead of focusing on what we want or need, try shifting your perspective to giving freely to others without expecting anything in return.
Appreciation
Another aspect of the holiday spirit is appreciation. Naturally, we appreciate our customers. However, appreciation also means thankfulness for the team members who make our businesses run. They are the people who serve our customers, package and ship our products, produce and fulfill our orders, deliver customer service, and keep everything organized behind the scenes.
Expressing appreciation to our team members is the only way to show that we value them and their contributions. Keeping it to yourself does no good for anyone! A simple “thank you” can mean a lot, but it’s also important to show appreciation in ways that will be meaningful and memorable. Everyone likes to know that their efforts matter, so take the time to make your team feel valued.
Gratitude for Our Blessings
Finally, gratitude for our blessings is of utmost importance. If we want to grow in the future, we must appreciate how the lessons of the past – good and bad — have brought us to this point. We should also be grateful for our current situation, even if it is not ideal.
Our hearts open when we are grateful, and we become more compassionate. We see the good in life and in others, and this transforms how we interact with them.
Ideas Into Action
To put the spirit of holidays into action, consider these four questions:
What does appreciation look like in my organization?
How can I demonstrate appreciation for my team’s past efforts and current contributions?
What can I do to uniquely express gratitude to my customers through unexpected acts of appreciation?
How can I increase the joy and abundance in my organization to enhance our organizational culture during the coming year?
When we embody the spirit of the holidays every day in the coming year, we prepare for creating distinction, no matter the circumstances of the economy, pandemic, or unforeseen challenges.
Apply these insights, and you’ve planted the right seeds for ICONIC achievement in 2022!
(And please keep watching here! We want to partner with you to enhance your professional and organizational growth. Our consulting/coaching/training business is limited to a few select clients each year. I would love to have a conversation with you about how we can work together to help you achieve the distinction you deserve in the coming year!)
